Barclays hirings under US scrutiny

The US Department of Justice is scrutinising whether Barclays breached antitrust laws by promising to stop poaching JPMorgan Chase bankers, in another blow for the British lender's chief executive, Jes Staley. The DoJ is examining whether Barclays entered into a so-called "No poach" agreement by promising not to hire more JPMorgan bankers, people familiar with the situation told the FT. Such agreements are illegal under US antitrust laws. Barclays insiders vigorously rejected any suggestion that such an agreement was entered into, or that any promise was made by Mr Staley not to hire any more JPMorgan bankers. Attention from the DoJ comes after major Barclays shareholders have already warned that their support for Mr Staley is wearing thin after an unrelated investigation was launched by UK regulators into his attempts to unveil the identity of a whistleblower. Questions about Mr Staley's judgment have also been raised after it emerged that KKR had blocked Barclays from winning new mandates at the powerful US private equity group in protest at how Mr Staley had taken the side of his brother-in-law in a dispute over a failed Brazilian deal.